The present invention relates to the field of bicycling and more particularly, to apparatus for protecting the ankles of a bicycle rider from injury.
Bicycle riding has become a favorite sport for a significant segment of the active, health conscious population. Many cycling devotees prefer variants of the sport known as off-road and mountain biking. Such riding takes place in unimproved areas where rough terrain, rocky outcroppings and underbrush may impede passage. Also, in close quarters, the inside of the rider""s ankles may be forced into contact with the pedal crankshaft arms. Seasoned riders become quick to recognize hazards and skillful in avoiding them, but even the best cannot always prevent hard contact. In this manner, thinly fleshed ankles are directly exposed to point impact, and are particularly vulnerable to bruising and laceration.
There is no doubt that bicycle riders would be much safer if they wore protective boots, but there is no place in the sport for such weighty, obtrusive measures. In addition, because of the ankle joint""s constant movement and flexing, chafing can make any hard protective ankle cover impractical. The chafing problem is exacerbated by heat and sweating. Although long pants might help to a limited extent, few hot weather riders would accept them as regular wear. In bicycling the legs pump constantly at a high level of effort and generate excess heat, which must be dissipated by the rider""s body. Airflow over the rider""s legs takes away a portion of this excess heat at the source, while the skin and lungs account for the rest. It is therefore obvious that heavy leg wear would work against the rider""s needs, particularly during periods of extreme exertion.
Protective leg wear has been disclosed for certain sports activities. Giesick, U.S. Pat. No. 4,856,110 teaches use of a full-length sock, woven from aramid and metallic fibers, to protect the back of hockey player""s legs against cuts and puncture wounds. Giesick also teaches that the reinforced area of the sock may be made to extend upwardly from the foot, to shield the Achilles tendon. While an aramid/metallic fiber sock would protect a bicycle rider from cuts, it would be ineffective against point impact injuries. While wearing such a sock might be comfortable on ice, it would be much less so for a bicycle rider and would impede body cooling as discussed above.
Thomeburg, et al, U.S. Pat. No. 5,307,522 discloses a cushioned sock for snowboarding. Thorneburg teaches the use of extra-heavy, fabric thickness at the medial portion of the rear of the leg, to prevent chafing against the snowboarding boot, and above the heel, to force the foot forwardly in the boot, so as to provide a firm fit and prevent shifting of the foot in the boot. Thomeburg, et al, also teach similar fabric thicknesses for cushioning the ball and heel of the foot against the impact of landing, much as seen in athletic socks for basketball and the like. None of these attributes are significant, or even helpful to a bicycle rider. As with the above aramid/metallic sock, the padded snowboarding sock of Thorneburg, et al would be ineffective against point impact injuries. A snowboarder wearing such a sock might be comfortable, but not a bicycle rider at much higher temperatures and again, body cooling would be impeded.
A first object of the present inventions is therefore, to provide effective apparatus for protecting the inside and outside of an off-road bicycle rider""s ankles from bruises and cuts arising from point impact with underbrush, rocks and the like by distributing the shock over a significantly increased area. A second object is that the apparatus of the present inventions be light in weight and unobtrusive, so as to not interfere with pedaling movements. A third object is that that the apparatus of the present inventions be of a form that does not interfere significantly with cooling air flow about the legs of the user. Yet a fourth object is that the apparatus of the present inventions can be produced inexpensively so as to encourage its wide usage.
The present inventions address the foregoing objects in direct manner by providing an ankle-length sock made of elastic knitted fabric for covering each of the rider""s feet and ankles and retaining a guard made of a thin, hard, flexible material, approximately one-eighth of an inch thick, at the outer surface of each sock, so as to extend from the top of the sock down to a line proximate the top of the rider""s shoe uppers. The guard passes around the rider""s ankle to protect the inside as well as the outside of the ankle joint.